I let the water soak my long hair. I reached for my favorite shampoo to work up a lather. I wished it was his scent impregnating my senses. I wished it was his hands in my hair. His hands draggin the loofa up and down the lengths of my body.
Stop this, Amber. You can’t do this. I needed to end this little fantasy. There was no way that Tobie and I would get together, even if we both wanted to. He was Hannah’s best friend. Any level of romantic feelings between us would shatter their friendship. He was way too important to Hannah to even risk it.
I shut the water off and let myself stand in the cold for a moment before I grabbed my towel. I put on a large t-shirt and comfy panties for bed. I was toweling my hair dry when there was a knock on my door.
“Amber? You in there?” Hannah called through the door.
I opened the bathroom door, her face was white as a sheet. “What’s wrong? Are you ok?” I asked.
“I got an email from a company out in California. Apparently one of my professors forwarded my resume to them.” There was a long pause, “The company is in Silicon Valley.” She turned her laptop so I could see the screen. My concern was gone. This was a big deal.
“Oh, shit Hannah, that’s awesome!!” But the look on her face made me think she didn’t agree. “Right?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, damn, this would be a huge opportunity but I don’t know if I’m really that caliber. Silicon Valley? Amber, that’s where the best of the best engineers are.”
I could tell that Hannah was freaked out by the realization that she might be considered “best of the best”. That was one of the best parts of her personality. Despite her natural ability to converse with people and make them feel at ease, she was also incredibly intelligent, and incredibly humble. A combination that is rarely found.
“Han, I think that if your professor thought you should be considered for this job and the company actually emailed you, there must be something there to consider.”
Hannah just stared at me. She looked like a deer in headlights. “So what does the email say exactly?” I asked, “Is it like a generic letter or what?”
Hannah turned her attention back to her computer and read me the email. “Dear Ms. Kilroy, We have reviewed your resume and would like to invite you to interview with us for a position in our development department. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Mr. Keith Burton from our human resources department to make the appropriate arrangements.”
“What?! That’s AWESOME Hannah!!!” I screamed. I grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled her in to give her a huge hug. “You should be really excited!”
Hannah laughed, “I think I am but it’s terrifying at the same time!”
“Hannah, you know what this means, right?”
“Nooo….??”
“We need to get you more clothes!”
I slammed my hand on the side of the nightstand.
“Shit!” I cried. That hurt like a bitch. I grabbed my phone and silenced my alarm. Groaning, I rolled back over and pulled the covers over my head. This is why I don’t go out during the week. I am not morning person and shorting myself two hours to go to the movies was a horrible idea.
Begrudgingly, I peeled myself out of bed and headed into the bathroom where my eyes rebuked the sudden brightness forced upon them when I flipped the light on. Who decided to make lights so damn bright? Million dollar idea: bathroom lights that turn on really low when your alarm goes off and brighten slowly so you don’t feel like such a grumpy asshole. It should probably tell you affirming things, too. Like “You’re so beautiful in the morning,” and “Murder is bad, you’re better than that.”
After I managed to do something halfway decent with my hair, I drug my feet downstairs to get some coffee. I let Russell out and sat on the back porch as I waited for the coffee to turn me back into a human being. When I felt sufficiently normal, I checked my phone for any updates or emails. Lots of junk emails, and a match from the dating site.
There was a picture of a pretty decent looking guy named Trey. I scanned through his profile while Russell continued to circle the yard. Trey was thirty five and worked in ‘sales’. What does that mean exactly? He could be selling anything. Cars? Insurance policies? Drugs? Maybe he left it vague on purpose so we’d have something to talk about.
He seemed cute enough, a nice smile, well groomed, clean shaved. What the hell, right? There wasn’t much point in being on this site if I didn’t ever agree to meet anyone. Not to mention that I really needed to get the idea of Tobie far out of my head. Without any pomp or circumstance, I replied that I’d be interested in meeting up. Maybe lunch this weekend?
I put my phone to sleep and called Russell back in. He’d continue with this charade of walking in circles and smelling every blade of grass for another four hours if I let him. I made a mental note to let him outside all afternoon once I got home from work.
“Did you get that report finished?” my boss, Jim popped into my cubicle.
“Oh, um… yes. I have it right here.” I scrambled to find the paper on my desk. Normally my desk was nice and tidy, but today I was having a difficult time staying on task. Papers were scattered everywhere.
“Everything, ok, Amber? You seem a little… off today.” Jim asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. My sister just moved back from college this week and it’s thrown me off having someone in the house again.” I explained. And in my head.
“Oh, I totally understand. When Jamie came back home my wife was all discombobulated for about two weeks. I don’t know what the big deal was… it’s not like our daughter hadn’t lived there before!” he laughed. Jim was a really nice guy and a great boss. He was firm about getting work done on time and up to standard, but as far as on a personal level, he was great. I loved working here.
Jim took the report and walked back to his office. I swiveled my chair back to my computer and scanned through the plethora of emails that never seemed to stop coming. Why do people even send me these? Ninety percent of these don’t have anything to do with me. I tapped my pen on my desk and let out a big sigh.
“I feel ya.” I heard from the cubicle next to me. Sarah rolled her chair out of her cube and into the entry of mine. “Rough week?”
Sarah was my best friend. She and I started here the same week and have had cubicles next to each other for the last five years. It took us a while to actually become friend, because let’s face it, adulting is hard. It wasn’t like either of us could have been like, “Hey, do you wanna be my friend?” during playground time. It was probably a year after we’d started working that we really started meshing. When she met Eric, I had a front row seat for all the excitement that entailed. It was easy to see that they were madly in love. They were a perfect match. Where she was loud and outgoing, he was reserved and calm. They were a perfect yin and yang. They finally got married this past spring and like all other newly married people, Sarah was desperate to recruit new members for the marriage club. Hence, Operation: Find Amber A Husband.
I really wanted to tell Sarah everything that had happened since Hannah got home but I was afraid to say anything. I really shouldn’t be thinking about Tobie at all.
“No, not rough. Just busy.” I faced my chair toward her. “We got Hannah all moved in and she’s all over my case about meeting someone. I finally signed up for one of those dating sites.”
Sarah’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Ooo!! Any hits yet?!”
I told her about Trey and showed her his profile. She seemed optimistic, pointing out that being in sales meant that he would have good social skills. As we were looking at his profile, a message from him popped up.
TREY: How about drinks Friday night?
Sarah insisted that I agree. I still wasn’t overly excited, but I guess I’ll never know until I meet him. Who knows? Maybe he’ll turn out to be the perfect guy for me. More perfect than Tobie? Seriously, Amber. Drop it.
Pushing Tobie out of my mind, I arranged the details to mee
t Trey at a bar downtown. I think I’d been there once before and I was pretty comfortable with the area. I set my phone down reached to massage my own shoulder.
“You alright?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, just really sore from moving Hannah’s stuff.”
“Oh, Amb! You should have called me. Eric and I could have come over to lend a hand.”
“It’s alright. Tobie was there to help.”
“Who’s Tobie?” she questioned.
“Hannah’s best friend. They’ve been inseparable since high school,” I tried to sound dismissive.
“Oh that’s right. I remember,” she recalled. “Is he at least good to look at?” she wagged her eyebrows at me, smiling.
I laughed. “You could say that.”
Sarah rolled her chair back toward her cubicle. “Well, at least let me know if he’s going to be helping out again, will ya?”
Chapter Nine
Amber
I stood in my closet wrapped in a towel trying to figure out what to wear. Hannah was sifting through all of my skirts. “Oh! Wear this one!” she handed me a flowy pink cotton skirt.
“I think I’m just going to wear jeans.” I hung the skirt back on the shelf and reached for my favorite pair of skinny jeans.
“You can’t wear jeans!” Hannah scolded, “You have to try and impress him. Look girly and stuff. Trust me.”
“Han, when have you ever known me to be ‘girly’?” I looked at her out of the sides of my eyes. Hannah had always been the more feminine of the two of us. She could pull off the flowy skirts and curled hair and all. Me? I was jeans and t-shirts all the way. I grabbed for a loose fitting red tank and a dangly necklace. I’d pin my hair back on the sides but let the rest fall naturally. I loved that I had our mom’s hair - dark natural waves.
“I’m just going to be myself. If he doesn’t like a girl who wears jeans then we need to stop this before it even starts.”
“Will you at least wear heels?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Wedges,” I compromised.
Hannah grinned and ran to her bedroom, presumably to find the perfect pair of shoes for me to wear.
I got to the bar five minutes after seven. I didn’t want to get there before Trey. I scanned the crowded room before spotting a guy that looked like his picture at the bar.
“Trey?” I placed my hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
“Hey, you must be Amber,” he rose up off his stool to greet me. “Here. You can sit here, I didn’t realize it would be this crowded tonight.”
“Oh, thanks,” I held my purse awkwardly in my lap.
“What do you want to drink?” he asked.
“Vodka and soda, please.” I took a deep breath. This was going to be ok. Trey looked just like his picture, so that was a good start. He was maybe an inch or two taller than me and wore jeans and a buttoned up white shirt untucked with the sleeves rolled up. All in all, I’d classify him as “average”. Nothing amazing, nothing appalling.
Trey waved the bartender over to order my drink for me. We chatted about nothing in particular for a while, my neck craning at a funny angle to talk to him as he stood next to me. I suggested at one point that we move to one of the tables, but he insisted that it was best to sit at the bar. ‘Easier to get drinks’ he explained.
Trey talked about himself. A lot. After thirty five minutes of listening to him talk about his job and his ex-girlfriend, I started losing interest. I began people watching while nodding my head at the appropriate moments. There were some really interesting people here. There was a couple in a booth that looked like they might actually be having sex, a group of single girls on a bachelorette party shamelessly flirting with random guys, and a very tall guy standing with a few friends at a hightop table in the back corner playing darts. When one of the guys turned around I realized it was Tobie. Crap on a cracker.
He noticed me and waved, smiling that adorable dimpled grin. I flashed a small smile back followed by a look of exasperation. I saw him laugh and get out his phone. After a few seconds of typing on it, he raised it up and shook it at me as if to tell me to check mine.
Trey was rambling on about his car now. Something about a bunch of letters and numbers. I guess I was supposed to be impressed but I really had no idea what any of it meant. I just kept nodding at the appropriate moments. I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone.
TOBIE: Looks like you’re having a blast.
I rolled my lips together to keep from smiling.
ME: Hardly.
TOBIE: Need a rescue?
ME: Please!
Tobias
I saw her the second I walked into the bar over half an hour ago. She was perched adorably on the bar stool holding her purse in her lap. Red is a great color on her. I hung back with my guys while this total douche was chatting her up. I really didn’t like seeing her with another guy, but I kept my calm and let her do her thing. This whole online dating thing was so not her style. It had Hannah written all over it. I rolled my eyes. Poor Amber. She looks miserable. I tucked my phone back into my pocket and called to Adam, “Hey, I’ll be back in a minute, ok?”
“Yeah, man. Gotcha.”
I took a deep breath and summoned up my best wing-man persona.
“Amber! What’s up girl? Muwah!” I laid a big ‘ol kiss on her cheek and stood right up next to her at the bar. Douche looked none-to-pleased. “Hey, man. What’s up?” I addressed him, holding out my hand, “I’m Tobias.”
“Trey,” he grunted.
“Cool.” I focused back on Amber, keeping my arm on the back of her barstool, framing douche-canoe out of the picture. “So what brings you out to this shitty bar tonight?”
“I uh, we… um… Actually, I met Trey online. This is the first time we’re meeting,” Amber explained.
“Oh, damn! This is your first date!? That’s awesome! Amber and I go way back, right, hon?” I slid my hand up her back and into the nape of her hair, grinning like an idiot at her. “So, Tripp. Tell me what you do for a living.”
“It’s Trey.”
“Ah, sorry. I’m bad with names.”
He raised an eyebrow at me, “I’m in sales.”
“Alright, cool…” I bobbed my head. “What does that mean exactly? Like used cars or something?”
Douche’s eyes narrowed at me. “No. I sell software to medical offices.”
“Ah, yeah… I have no idea what that means, but I bet it’s interesting.”
Amber was trying her best to suppress her laughter.
“Hey, so first date, huh? Did Amber tell you what her favorite food is?”
“Um… no…?”
Amber snapped her head in my direction, her face worried for where I was going with this.
“This girl,” I jabbed my thumb in her direction, “...loves pickles. Like seriously loves them. I’ve never seen someone sit and eat pickles like her.”
“Tobie! What the fuck!?” she hissed at me.
I laughed and continued, the look of disgust on Douche’s face was worth Amber’s embarrassment. “Like, Tristan, seriously, she’ll even drink the juice from the jar when she thinks no one is looking.”
Now Douche was just angry. “My name is Trey.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“No, you called me Tristan.”
“Eh, pretty close.”
“Listen, man, I think you need to go.” Douche was over my antics.
“Nah, I think I’ll stay. I haven’t seen Amber in a while. I’d love to catch up with her.” I hip checked the guy on the stool next to Amber. “Hey man, you mind if I sit for a minute? I gotta bum leg.”
Amber snorted into her drink.
“Seriously. This isn’t cool, man.”
“What’s not cool about it?” I pressed, “I saw a good friend from across the bar looking like she was having a shitty date so I came over to say hi. Trust me, Travis, you weren’t getting anywhere.”
Douche’s eyes looked like they were g
oing to pop out of his head. Clearly no one had ever told him flat out how bad he was at this. He looked to Amber for support but she kept her face down, laughing into her drink.
“Was I wrong, Amber?” she shook her head, smiling. “Were you even considering sleeping with him for shits and giggles?”
“Oh, my God, Tobie. No, I wasn’t going to sleep with him,” she slapped my arm.
“There, see? She wasn’t even planning on pity sex.” I shrugged my shoulders and gave a sad face. “Sorry, Trevor. Looks like you should just cut your losses.”
“It’s Trey,” he scowled, throwing ten bucks onto the bar. “Asshole.” he grunted as he stomped off.
Amber
“I can’t believe you just did that!?” I yelled at Tobie.
“Me!? You can’t believe me?! You’re the one who just wasted an hour of your life with that douche bag! Good grief, Amber, why did you agree to meet up with him?” he laughed, ordering himself a beer and another vodka soda for me. “Please tell me he at least paid for your drinks.”
“Drink,” I clarified, “and yes, he did pay for it. What was with the whole ‘pickle’ thing?!”
“What? You love pickles. I thought he should know.”
“How the hell do you know that I like pickles?”
“Why wouldn’t I know that? Amber, I spent practically every hour that I wasn’t at school at your house. I was bound to see you drink from the pickle jar at some point.”
I was shocked. And embarrassed. But also feeling a little confident thanks to my friend, Liquid Courage. “Oh, really? So what other oddities do you know about me, Mr. Miller?” I challenged him.
Tobie smiled. He set his beer down on the bar and turned to face me. “I know that you don’t like your food to touch. You work your way around the plate eating one thing at a time and save your favorite thing for last. I know that you don’t like to walk into dark places so you always turn the lights on as you walk through the house. I know that you don’t like wearing shoes. I also know that you hate when people hum.”
Delicate (Sublime Series Book 1) Page 6
